


The Human and the Machines

by Dragons_and_Jellies



Series: Nier: Automata s/i works [1]
Category: NieR: Automata (Video Game)
Genre: M/M, Original Character(s), Self-Insert, Trans Male Character
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-20
Updated: 2019-01-20
Packaged: 2019-10-13 11:28:51
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,715
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17487269
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Dragons_and_Jellies/pseuds/Dragons_and_Jellies
Summary: While exploring the City ruins, Eve discovers something interesting that'll change things for he and his brother forever.





	1. An interesting discovery indeed....

**Author's Note:**

> Wow! I wrote something that isn't Another! Crazy

It was just a normal day. He was looking, scavenging the city ruins, searching for any remnants of humanity. He’d been out for well over three hours when he finally found something. A tree, an apple tree. A feeling of excitement surged through him. He hadn’t seen a fruit tree in quite a while, he’d been living off of small animals that he could manage to catch but now he had fruit! He smiled, and began to scale the tree, using his calloused hands to pull his thin body higher into the tree. He’d managed to perch himself on a relatively low branch full of ripe fruit, when he heard it. A rustling noise coming from another point in the tree. He ignored it, assuming it was an animal, and continued to pick the fruit and placed it gently into the bag around his shoulders. 

The rustling grew louder, and the boy turned to look at the source of the noise. The branches parted, and……….another person poked their head through. The person had a strong jaw, short white hair, a tattoo on his left arm, and an incredibly muscular physique. Both boys looked startled, eyes going wide as they stared at each other in shock. The white haired boy’s eyes narrowed as he examined the other. “You’re……..you’re human,” he whispered, an air of amazement in his voice. The other nodded, and a wide smile appeared on the white haired boy’s face. Just moments later, the white haired boy snatched up the other, and ran. He ran across the city, jumped down a small hole in the ground, and sprinted through a tunnel before stopping at an elevator. He pressed the button, and stepped in, still holding firm on the small human in his grasp. 

As the elevator went down, the white haired boy found himself examining the human he’d found. From where he held the human over his shoulder, he could feel how frail and thin he was, he was almost amazed that he was alive. Once the elevator doors opened, the white haired boy stepped out into what appeared to be a city made of pure white. There was a strange smell in the air. It smelled smoky and strangely metallic-almost obnoxiously artificial. He boy carried his captured human through the city before coming into a large clearing, where a pure white table sat, and another white haired man stood, looking at the table as if examining his handiwork. This man was different. He was slightly thinner than the boy who held the human, and his hair was much longer-that’s all the human could see from where he was stuck. “Brother!” The boy holding the human shouted, causing the other man to turn around. His thinned eyes went wide when he saw what his brother was holding. “Brother, I found a human!” The short haired brother said excitedly. 

 

The long haired brother’s thin eyes wrinkled in a smile. “So you did, set them down won’t you Eve?” The short haired one-apparently named Eve-set the human down. The human stumbled a bit before gaining his footing and standing up straight, his thin form trembling in the strangely cold environment of this artificial city. The long haired brother stepped towards the human, examining him with his eyes. The human’s face flushed a bit as the long haired brother leaned in, his admittedly attractive face only inches from the human’s own. He leaned back to his full height, at least a full foot taller than the human. “Now human, what is your name?” The human froze. He hadn’t thought about his name in years. Hesitantly, he forced himself to use his abandoned vocal cords. “My name is Haru,” he said in a quiet, hoarse voice. The long haired man looked intrigued. “Haru? What characters is that written with.” The boy was frozen. He hadn’t written his own name in so long-he wasn’t even sure that the name he’d given was his name. He wracked his brain, trying to pull up some sort of answer. “The character for-for springtime.” He recalled, sighing in relief when the tall man accepted his response.

“My name is Adam,” he-Adam-responded. Haru nodded, feeling his frail form start to tremble. Adam’s eyes narrowed. “Are you ill?” He asked, and Haru’s eyes went wide as they met Adam’s. Adam hummed in recognition. “I’m simply curious. You look much too thin-moreso than any humans I saw in illustrations and photos. It isn’t an issue if you are, I just want it taken care of so that we don’t lose you, human,” he said, a strange smile on his face. Haru gulped. He wasn’t ill as Adam suspected, he just hadn’t always even successful in finding food, causing him to be incredibly thin. Eve stepped forward, kneeling beside the human. One of his large, calloused hands reached out and poked lightly at Haru’s arm. “Yeah, this human looks sick.” Haru inhaled deeply. “I’m not sick,” he said softly. “I just haven’t eaten much.” Adam raised an eyebrow. “Well we must fix this. You are the last human alive. We must keep you healthy,” he said, a gloved hand gesturing to the table behind him. “Come, human, sit with us.” Haru nodded, moving to sit awkwardly in one of the chairs, his knees to his chest and arms wrapped around his legs. 

Adam sat next to him on one side and Eve sat on the other. Adam seemed to notice Haru’s unease, as he quickly attempted to soothe his discomfort. “Now human, there’s no need to be afraid. We simply wish to care for you, we have no intention of hurting you,” he said, folding his gloved hands in front of him on the table. Eve nodded rapidly. “Yeah! Plus, now that you’re here I’ll have someone else to play with!” Haru forced his posture to relax, setting his bare feet on the freezing, artificial ground. “Will-will I ever be allowed to leave?” He asked softly, his voice trembling as much as his body. Adam looked legitimately startled by this. “Of course you will, we aren’t going to force you to stay here,” he said. Haru noticed how soft Adam’s voice was-it sounded how honey tasted. Warm and sweet, thick and deep. “Then why-why did you bring me here?” Adam pushed up his glasses. “I have a bit of a fixation on humanity. I’d believed that humans were extinct, only for Eve to find you-a human. I’m sure you can imagine my excitement.” Haru looked at Adam warily. He didn’t look very excited, his expression was serene, eyes narrowed and a small smile on his face. 

Haru inhaled deeply. “Can I-can I at least get my things from my home?” Adam and Eve looked at him quizzically. “Of course, you can even continue living there if you so please. We just wish you have your company on occasion.” Haru nodded, eyes still focused on the pure white tabletop. “May I go then?” He asked quietly. Adam nodded. “Very well. May I request that you return to us another day? Perhaps next week, whenever you want works,” he said in that beautiful, honeyed voice. Haru didn’t respond, he just stood, and ran to where the elevator was in the artificial city, fear coursing through him as he did so. But the elevator door was gone. A sound of distress escaped his throat and he banged on the wall of the artificial city. A moment later, Eve appeared behind him, placing a hand on the wall. The elevator door appeared, and Haru stood, legs trembling from his sprint. “Sorry about that human, I forgot about the door,” Eve sounded sincere. Haru couldn’t be angry at him. 

As he waited for the elevator to arrive, he found himself glancing back at Eve. The short haired brother looked concerned. “Are you sure you can make it back to your home, human?” He didn’t sound degrading as it may seem, he sounded worried. Haru sighed, suddenly very aware of his own weakness, magnified by the insistent growling of his stomach. He found himself glancing back at Eve, who offered a small smile to the scared human. The elevator door opened, and Haru sighed as he made his decision. “I want to get my things,” he said. Eve nodded. “I can come with you, if you’d like,” Eve offered, a childish expression on his otherwise mature looking face. Haru nodded. Eve’s smile widened. “This will be fun! I can see where the human lives!” Haru sighed and stepped into the elevator, all too aware of the excited machine beside him. He exited the elevator once the doors opened, went through the cave, climbed the ladder leading to the surface, and began his trek to the area he’d used as a home. It was in the ravine at the edge of the city ruins, right by the forest. He climbed down the rocks carefully, his calloused hands and feet aiding his slow descent. He was still oddly aware of Eve following him, seemingly intrigued by the human’s activities. 

Once at the bottom, he approached the waterfall, and stepped behind it into a small hollowed out area. The small cave was covered in moss and leaves, a bunch of relics used to make furniture, and many very human looking artifacts. Haru sighed, and grabbed the blanket from his bed, grabbing items he found important and placing them inside. Eve looked around and watched the human as he grabbed his things. Eve spotted something on the ground, and picked it up, examining the object. It was a worn stuffed animal, clearly having been loved on quite a lot by Haru himself. It appeared to be a giraffe, it’s fur was messy and it had a few small rips that the human had clearly tried to patch up with clumsy human fingers. Eve looked over at Haru. “Did you want this too?” He asked, holding it up. Haru’s eyes went wide, and he nodded. Eve placed it gently in Haru’s makeshift bag and smiled at the human. Haru looked at him with a confused expression, but Eve ignored it, choosing instead to help him wrap up his things. “Thanks,” Haru said, as the two started the climb back up. Eve had offered to carry Haru’s things, as Eve was far stronger than the human, especially in the malnourished state he was in. It didn’t take long for them to be back in the artificial city, where Adam greeted them with a smile.

“Well, That was fast.” Haru grunted, sitting down in one of the chairs as soon as he was able. “You’re quite thin, we should work on fixing that,” Adam said, taking his seat beside the human once more. Haru glances at Adam, who had his hands clasped in front of him once more. “We have food around here somewhere don’t we Eve?” He asked, turning his gaze into his brother. Eve nodded. “We do, I’ll go get something,” he said before walking off to another part of the city Haru had yet to see. The human looked after Eve, then back to Adam. Adam smiled. “Don’t worry, he’ll return shortly with something for you to eat. He knows I want to speak to you alone anyway.” Haru nodded, and Adam leaned forward to rest his chin on his hands. “So, human, what was your life like?” Haru was surprised slightly by Adam’s broad question. He looked around, wracking his brain for information on his life. “Well I-I was a dancer, I danced to pop songs for a living. I lived alone, didn’t have many friends, I was single, not close with my family,” he said, eyes darting around as he remembered these bits and pieces of his life. Adam nodded. “You weren’t very popular.” Haru winced. “No I-I’m not the kind of person people like.” Adam’s brows furrowed. “I don’t understand why, I think you’re wonderful,” Adam said, his honeyed voice making Haru’s face flush. “Thanks I guess,” he said. Adam hadn’t known him long, and Haru had a difficult time believing the machine’s words. 

The two remained in awkward silence for a moment before Eve returned, a large bowl of fruit in one hand and a plate of what appeared to be meat. He placed both plates on the table in front of Haru, who felt his stomach rumble at the smell and sight of the food. Adam smirked as Eve sat on the other side of the human. “You can eat as much as you’d like,” Adam said, gesturing to the food. Haru nodded, and immediately began stuffing his face. He hadn’t eaten a full meal in almost a week, and he was starving. Adam and Eve watched in mild amusement at the human, who looked quite comical as he shoved more and more food into his mouth. Once he finished, he wiped his mouth and sighed, a tired expression making its way to his face. Adam smiled, and idly poked at the bag of Haru’s belongings. “Would you like me to show you to your room? If you aren’t ready I understand.” Haru looked up, hazel eyes wide as he nodded slightly. Adam’s smile remained, and he stood, grabbing Haru’s makeshift bag. He began to walk further into the city, hearing Haru’s quiet footsteps trail behind him in a rhythm far more uneven than Adam’s own. He thought he heard Eve working on clearing the table, and his smile widened. He was glad his brother understood his desire to be with the human. Eventually, he and Haru stopped in front of a building. A building which to Haru, looked exactly like all of the others. Adam placed a hand on the wall of this building, and a door appeared, and the two stepped through it. It closed and disappeared immediately after the two stepped into the building.

The inside itself looked as pristine and white as the outside, with the overall appearance of what appeared to be a strange imitation of a hotel, with the arrangement resembling a hotel but the furniture itself looking like it belonged in a normal house-despite the pure white color. The inside smelled even more strongly of metal and plastic, making it all feel even more artificial. Haru continued to follow Adam up a flight of steps, and into a room. The room looked like a normal bedroom, with a king sized bed, a bedside table with a lamp, and a dresser on the wall across from the bed. There was a shape of a window on the wall, but no actual hole, making the room feel all the more closed in. There was a door beside the dresser which seemingly led into a bathroom as pristine and white as the room itself. Haru sighed, and placed his bag down on the ground beside his bed, a spot of color in this abnormally monochromatic room. Haru himself sat awkwardly on the bed, trying to ignore how Adam observed him. “I hope this is to your liking. If there’s anything else you need, just say so. I’ve done research on humans but that doesn’t mean I’m completely prepared to House one,” Adam explained. Haru nodded. So Adam had prepared this room in preparation for encountering a human. Really everything made more sense with this information. Haru nodded and sighed, scratching lightly at his hair. “This room….does it have running water?” He asked hesitantly. Adam smiled and nodded. “Of course. The sink, toilet and shower are fully functional.” Haru nodded. He hadn’t cleaned himself thoroughly in almost a month, and was painfully aware of the marks his dirty feet left on the white floor. “I’m gonna-gonna shower if that’s-“ Adam nodded. “Go right ahead. Would you like me to wait here, or would you like me to leave?” Haru didn’t even think it over, as his mouth worked without his own consent. “Please stay.” Adam smiled warmly at the human. “Of course. I’ll wait here while you do what you need to.” Haru nodded and stepped into the bathroom, closing the door behind him. 

His heartbeat had sped up without him noticing, and he released a heavy breath as he leaned against the door. He was still frightened, even if the machine brothers had made it clear that they wouldn’t hurt him-he was still scared. Once he managed to calm his frantic thoughts, Haru stood fully again and stepped towards the shower. He noticed a pair of pure white pajamas sitting next to the sink, as well as a pure white toothbrush, and oddly enough-toothpaste, which actually had color. Haru was a bit thrown off by the color of the tube. It was so strange seeing this in such a colorless place. Haru forced away his disbelief, and turned on the shower, moving to brush his teeth as the water warmed up. He was almost surprised that the toothpaste was just…...normal toothpaste. He’d half expected some strange concoction that the brothers had made to imitate toothpaste. Once finished, he undressed and stepped into the shower. The water was hot, and he sighed at the warmth of the water that fell over him. He felt strangely safe in the embrace of the warm water, like he hadn’t just been taken in by two machine men who may or may not want to kill him. Although, the two had seemed nice enough, and he really wanted to believe that the brothers truly didn’t mean him any harm. He sighed, and forced himself to turn off the water and exit. He almost winced at the dirt that colored the towel he dried himself off with. He pulled on the pajamas that were left, and wa shocked by how soft and comfortable they were. They didn’t smell as artificial as the rest of the place he noticed. With a deep breath, he exited the bathroom. He was shocked by the wave of relief he felt when he saw the machine sitting there on the edge of his bed, reading a book. Adam looked up, and smiled, marking his place in his book before closing it.

“I hope everything is to your liking,” Adam said, gesturing to the room. Haru felt slightly touched as he noticed that Adam had unpacked his bag, even putting the blanket and stuffed giraffe on the bed. Haru moved to sit on the bed beside Adam, laying his back against the headboard and pulling his legs to his chest. He was acutely aware of how Adam observed him. It made him a bit uncomfortable, but something about Adam’s presence was comforting. He radiated warmth, and he smelled sweet and warm. Haru pulled the covers up over himself and sighed. “I’m going to sleep,” he said quietly, watching as Adam nodded. “Alright, sleep well Human,” he stood to leave and-Haru realized that he didn’t want him to. He didn’t want Adam to leave because that would mean he was alone in this room. “Will you-will you stay?” He asked, his voice nothing more than a quiet chirp. Adam turned around and smiled. “Of course,” he said, turning back around to sit back on the edge of the bed beside Haru’s thin form. He pulled out his book, pausing when he noticed Haru looking at him. “Are you alright human?” Haru nodded. “Yes it’s just that-“ he paused, inhaling deeply. “-it’s just hard to sleep in an unfamiliar place.” Adam nodded. “Do not worry my human, I won’t let anything happen to you,” he said, gently touching Haru’s messy red hair with his gloved hand. Haru tried to ignore the blush Adam’s words and touch brought to his face. He forced his eyes closed and burrowed deeper into the blanket. He’d unconsciously scooted closer to Adam, enjoying the way he felt bathed in the machine’s sweet scent. Adam chuckled softly, a fond expression coming to his face as he looked at the human. Haru was already starting to warm up to him, and this made him strangely happy. Haru yawned one final time, before drifting off, smelling Adam’s scent and feeling his touch as he drifted away into sleep.


	2. Yes Another Interesting Discovery..

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Adam decides to take the human on an exploration of the ruins in hopes of learning more.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wowie this chapter is SHORT
> 
> Anyway I hope anyone who reads this enjoys

Haru woke surrounded by a strange warmth. He felt cocooned in it, this sweet scented warmth that held him close, burrowed into his neck-wait. His eyes flew open, seeing the sheer white room bathed in a low light clearly meant to simulate morning sunlight. He shifted slightly, feeling something…...something very warm wrapped around him. His eyes went wide as a rush of fear surged through him...before he remembered who it likely was that was draped over him. Haru forced his breathing to calm, and sat up, his suspicion being confirmed when he saw the long haired machine laying beside him. Adam seemed to have fallen asleep while reading, as his glasses were still on, and his book lay open on his side. Adam stirred slightly, causing Haru’s breath to hitch in slight fear as the machine sat up fully, rubbing at his eyes and running a hand through his hair. He blinked, his eyes focusing on Haru. “It appears that I fell asleep,” he said, stating the obvious in a way that was almost comical. Haru nodded, sitting up fully to stare at Adam. Something about a machine acting so human made his chest feel funny. He rubbed at his own eyes, deeply inhaling the sweet scent of the room. Great, now his room smelled like Adam. Haru wished it was easier to be upset about that. Adam pushed up his glasses and closed the open book, seemingly trying to regain his previous dignified manor-which was quite difficult considering his seemingly sleepy state. 

Adam stood, seeming to take a moment to gain his bearings, and turned back to Haru. “Shall we go? Or would you like to clean and dress first?” Haru stood. “I’d like to get dressed first. Adam nodded and pointed to the dresser. “The clothes you wore before are clean now, or you can wear anything in there.” Haru nodded, and walked up to the dresser, opening a drawer to see lots of folded shirts of various sizes and types, ranging from sleeveless to turtleneck, all white of course. He opened the drawer under that to see rows of pants and skirts, some white, some black and some gray. He grabbed a white sleeveless shirt and black shorts and walked over to the bathroom. He closed the door behind him and brushed his teeth. He ran his fingers through his hair once he was done, and began dressing himself in the plain clothes. He almost winced at his own reflection. The sleeveless shirt showed off his frail form, as well as how incredibly…..off he looked in such monochromatic clothing. His skin was pale and covered in freckles, as well as many small scars. His messy shoulder length brown hair added to his messed up appearance. He looked far too messy to be wearing such clean looking clothes. He sighed, and pulled his hair back into a messy bun, before exiting the room. Adam smiled at him upon his arrival, and the two headed out into the city. 

The artificial sunlight over the city grew brighter as they walked towards the center, as if it were controlled by Adam himself. Haru stopped walking when he noticed Eve exit a nearby building. Eve smiled widely and ran towards Haru and Adam. Eve caught up quickly, and the three continued walking. The younger brother wasted no time starting conversation. “Brother! Can we play today? Maybe the human can play too!” He said excitedly. Adam laughed softly. “I had intended to have the human assist us in exploring a new area of the city ruins, but I suppose we can play if we finish early.” Eve’s smile brightened. “Well then we’ll just have to finish really fast, right human?” His gaze was directed at Haru, who blushed lightly at the sudden attention. “Y-yeah,” was his brilliant response. Eve seemed satisfied, turning instead to look at his brother. “Where will we be exploring?” Adam pushed up his glasses, smiling at Haru as he responded to Eve. “We’ll be looking at the abandoned shopping center,” he said, smirking as he saw Haru’s face go pink. The three entered the elevator, and Eve pressed the button to take them up to the cave system. It took them about an hour to reach the abandoned shopping mall by foot, going at Haru’s pace. Once there, Adam stood in the middle, examining the area. He hummed softly in recognition as he looked at the ground, where various machine parts lay scattered. “It seems that androids have been through here.” Eve made a face. “You mean those androids? Do you think it’s safe to have the human with us then?” Haru looked at the brothers in confusion. He knew about the androids, but why would their presence make him unsafe? “If the androids find a human on the earth, they’ll want to take them up to the bunker on the moon. We don’t want that,” Adam explained, a strange expression on his face. Haru nodded. As skeptical as he was of the machine brothers, he’d rather stay with them than be forced to go to the Moon.

“I….I don’t think I want that either,” Haru said quietly. Eve flashed him a reassuring smile as Adam placed a hand on his shoulder. “We won’t let that happen, Human,” Eve said. Adam hummed in agreement. “Correct. We cannot have the only human we may ever encounter taken from us.” Haru nodded, and Eve moved to start walking around the overgrown mall. He seemed fascinated by all of the leftover signs from when the humans were there, as Adam examined the plant growth. Haru awkwardly followed Adam, looking at the various plants that grew on the walls. He looked around a bit, and his eyes went wide when he spotted a familiar flower. He walked over to it and knelt by it. The flower, a small yellow flower with many thin petals-a chrysanthemum, was one that he recognized. Adam came to kneel beside him. “This flower, what is it?” He asked. His tone betrayed the fact that he already knew the answer, he just wanted the human’s response. “It’s a chrysanthemum,” Haru said, his hand gently touching the delicate flower. “They were always my favorites.” Adam nodded, touching the flower in a similar way to how Haru had, a soft smile on his face. He then brought his hand up to the stem, and plucked it out of the ground. Haru gasped in horror, quite the overreaction to a picked flower. Adam smiled softly, turning the flower in his hand before turning his opposite hand over to reveal many small seeds. “Do not fret, I extracted the seeds. You can plant as many as you’d like in the city,” Adam said. Haru looked at Adam with wide eyes for a moment before smiling, and gently taking the seeds from the machine. He placed them in one of his pants pockets, saving them for when he returned to the city.

“Now, what other plants do you like?” Adam asked, his eyes holding a genuine curiosity that made Haru feel strange. “Well I-I like tulips, and ivy and spider lillies, and roses-“ Adam watched intently as the human spoke, eventually moving his hand to place the picked chrysanthemum behind Haru’s ear. Haru recoiled slightly at the contact, his face flushing a soft pink as he touched the flower that was now in his hair. Adam smiled. “I apologize if I startled you. I’d read this was something humans did as a sort of bonding ritual, so I thought I would do it with you,” he explained. “As much as I know I cannot force you to like us, I at least want you to be less afraid,” he finished, a strange sincerity to his expression as he said it. Haru couldn’t help but believe him. An awkward smile came to the human’s face. “It’s okay you just-you caught me a bit off guard is all.” Adam nodded, smile returning to his face. “I’m glad,” he said softly, before standing and calling out to Eve. “Eve, we can play now. I got all the information I need.”


End file.
